“So, I’ve discovered some fascinating old plans. It’s a flying machine, moved by these propellers here. I’ve tested it and my hand scale models move well through the air.”

“Wow! Any difficulties you’re facing?”

“Well… the issue is scaling it up to a size that would fit a human inside it…. There is a bit of a… power problem.”

“How much of a power problem?”

“Well, the only thing I’ve found that’d work comes from the goblins…”

“Oh no…. no, no, no, no, no.”

“It’s not too bad! The fuel source only has some minor waste products! I mean, they’ll kill everyone with no cure and won’t be safe for 10,000 years, but other than that it’s a perfect solution!”

…

“Come up with a better plan.”

- Elvira Sprocket, From: “Gnomish Adventures in Goblin Engineering.” AC 1627.

WHA!-GARBLE-GARBLE-GARBLE!!!

Water blasts into my face as Wilhelm launches us and I’m instantly focused on the situation. I reflexively engage my skill [Riding Mask]. It’s current effects are:

“Your body and mount shifts to cut through elemental obstruction.”

As the skill kicks in, I can feel the edges of my shell grow sharper. As a starfish, Luna is fairly rounded, but even still the skill takes hold, and she seems to flatten more to my carapace. I can feel us become more streamlined, and I engage [Water Manipulation] to try to decrease the drag as we’re flying through the sea.

With that done, I’m able to relax just a hair as the ocean is no longer being shoved forcefully into my orifices. Even still, my nerves are ratcheted to a high peak.

I don’t know how Luna finds this fun.

The kelp is zooming by us, as we leave the dim area behind. I can see the plants trying to reposition to our sudden egress, but with our attention focused on them, they can’t make that instant jump they were doing before. Even still, they’re crawling forward on their roots and a grasping tendril is reaching towards us….

*LEG CHAINS!*

Luna lunges from her position and throws an arm from her spatial inventory to the ground. She uses the anchor to adjust our flight and the tendril misses by a hair. And yet… that repositioning has slowed us down. I’m reducing the drag from the water as much as possible, but I can’t remove it entirely. We rocket through another ten meters before reaching the apex of our flight. As we lose momentum, our trajectory bends downward and I see…

We’re not going to make it.

With a mere thirty feet remaining, we crash into the sand. At the last moment, Luna wrenches her body atop my shell, so that she’s the one impacting first. With an idle portion of my awareness, I give silent thanks. Slamming into the floor with the root still embedded might have been the end of me. We slide another ten feet before coming to a halt.

And the area grows darker.

Luna crawls from underneath me and latches onto one of my pincers. I’m upside down, but even still I do my best to wriggle and help her as she begins to drag me out of the forest.

I let out a mana pulse, trying to get an idea of the surrounding area when I notice a large figure moving above us… and then launching from the tree’s overhead. The giant figure, the one we’ve been running from this whole time lands with a crash ahead; blocking the route to safety. For the first time, I’m able to get a close look at it with my eyes.

Two legs, a torso and arms complete the humanoid, but as I suspected before, the giant is composed entirely of plant matter. It seems as though strands of foliage have replaced the muscle tissue and worse yet, it appears to be rotting. The monster opens a ragged hole in its face that serves as a mouth. The giant takes a deep inhale of water and roars. As it does, blackened and putrid muck launches towards us and Luna scrambles to drag me to the side. As we dodge, I look into its dead void eyes and with a sinking feeling I bring up the combat logs, fearing what I will find…

Your party has entered combat!

Corrupted Guardian Giant (Lvl 51) Roars!

You take no damage.

As I stare in horror at the level difference, I know that we can’t win this. I tell her,

“Don’t get hit! It’s corrupted!”

She replies,

“Okay! I’ll buy time for the team to get here!”

The giant starts to take plodding steps towards us as Luna moves to engage. In quick succession she launches her arms from her inventory, and they embed into the ground. She then uses her leg chain skill, drastically repositioning dynamically in the water and dodging the ponderous swipes of the monster. I struggle and eventually flip myself over, tenderly moving to prevent the ground from impacting the spike still embedded in my body.

My thoughts feel like clanking gears, but I manage to come up with an idea. We’re pretty close to the edge… maybe… maybe comms can get through now.

“Provision team, this is Team Mooncrab. Requesting immediate reinforcements and medical evacuation. We are fifteen meters from forest edge.”

I remember seeing Bill’s cracked shell.

“We have two wounded and are facing a level 51 Corrupted Guardian Giant, over.”

“Mooncrab… continue… transmitting… need… a… fix…”

“Roger Provision team.”

As I’m sending the message, the forest orients towards my position. The giant turns from its ineffectual swiping at Luna and glares at me. It takes a step towards me before Luna jumps in front of the creature’s face and detonates a leg.

As the smoke clears, I see it has no effect but to re-orient its attention towards Luna. I continue transmitting,

“Provision team, we need IMMEDIATE reinforcements!”

I hear the others rushing to catch up to us. With the forest’s attention mostly on the two of us, I hope they won’t face too many obstructions. I help as I can, undermining the giant’s footing with [Earth Manipulation], adjusting the speed and drag of Luna so that she can more effectively dodge. The corrupted giant is slow, but one good hit on any of us and we’re done for. I only hope that help will arrive before it’s too late.

Meanwhile, at the Training Operations Center.

“Sergeant! We were able to get a fix on their location!”

Sergeant Lee’s head snaps to the specialist in charge of communications and he barks out an order,

“Move me to the staging area for the quick response force, wait thirty seconds and then send us there. If you’re jammed, then move one hundred meters in the opposite direction and try again. Wait two minutes then send the medical evacuation team through.”

“Roger Sergeant.”

The specialist presses a few buttons on the board in front of him and mana builds in the surrounding area. A flash of light and Drill Sergeant Lee is facing five small, armored crabs. With a quick glance he heaves an inward sigh of relief, he has worked with them before. Orienting towards the non-commissioned officer in charge he sees that the two of them have the same rank. The crab in front of him drawls,

“Been a while Drill Sergeant. You joinin’ us?”

Sergeant Lee replies, “Aye, if you’ll have me. Be advised, the privates are facing a level 51 corrupted giant.”

“Oof, that’s a tough one for them for sure.”

An automated voice sounds,

“Teleport in ten seconds.”

Sergeant Lee looks at the other crabs, heavy cavalry scouts, the lot of them. They must have been off rotation from the front lines when this mess started. Sergeant Lee was glad to have them with him. He says,

“I won’t mess with your squad, just offer support.”

“That’s good. We’re going for trample and kill.”

The voice sounds once more, “Teleport in five seconds.”

“It’s a good day to charge,” drawls one of the squad members.

Sergeant Lee replies, “That it is, that… it… is…”

“Teleporting now.”

A wave of mana engulfs the six crabs and the lobster and then they are somewhere else. Off in the distance, roars and motion immediately catches their attention. Sergeant Lee moves to the side, allowing the squad leader to take command. The squad leader gives his first order.

“Go to full size.”

A flash of mana, and the six crabs are revealed in their full glory. Sergeant Lee doesn’t even need to identify them, he knows their race by sight…. Titan Crab’s, the terrors of the ocean floor. They stand 20 meter’s tall, pincers snipping ominously; ready for their foe. They’ve dropped all pretense of subtlety, letting their armor shine brilliantly in the dim sun. The squad leader turns to Sergeant Lee.

“Can you drop your domain?”

Sergeant Lee responds,

“You want this water gone?”

The squad leader *snips* his claw in acknowledgement and Sergeant Lee’s domain ripples out, pushing the water away from the squad in a forty meter radius. The squad leader turns to his troops and lifts a claw high before swinging it forward and yelling,

“[CRABALRY CHARGE]!”

And multiple tons of flesh and steel rocket forward, racing to trample the Demon Kelp Forest.